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Astronomy

Bad Astronomy: Misconceptions and Misuses Revealed, from Astrology to the Moon Landing "Hoax" is a non-fiction book by the American astronomer Phil Plait, also known as the Bad Astronomer. The book was released in 2002 and deals with various misunderstandings about space and astronomy, such as sounds being audible in space (a misconception because in space, sound has no medium in which to propagate). Many ideas relating to space that are mistaken but nevertheless often portrayed in popular movies are corrected and explained. He also dedicates much of the book to debunking the idea of a Moon Landing Hoax and explains why astrology should not be taken seriously. A part of the book describes the moon's tidal effects and explains the Coriolis effect, why the sky is blue, the Big Bang, etc.

Each summer, amateur astronomers from all over the world look forward to observing the famous Perseid meteor shower, but often overlook six lesser celestial fireworks displays that reach their peak between July 28 and Aug. 20.

An exceptionally large and glorious moon will grace our skies this weekend. The Moon will be full at the perigee point of its orbit -- the point when it's closest to Earth. According to NASA , the Moon will appear 14% bigger and 30% brighter as a res...

Astronomers aren't being poetic when they say this star is a diamond. Scientists have identified what is possibly the coldest white dwarf ever detected. In fact, this dim stellar corpse is so cold that its carbon has crystallized, effectively forming...

Astronomers are one step closer to solving a longstanding mystery — just what our Milky Way galaxy looks like. It may seem odd that a comprehensive understanding of the Milky Way's structure has so far eluded researchers. But it's tough to get a broa...

The technology you use to snap selfies is now being used to photograph planets trillions of miles away -- a process which could help determine which ones may be hospitable to humans. Astronomers for the first time have captured an image of an exoplan...

Few instances of regret are worse than missing rare astronomical events that come (sometimes literally) once in a lifetime. From witnessing breathtaking eclipses to experiencing the first time a significant comet passes by Earth, celestial events are...

On two evenings in April, the heavens felt closer. Cloudless and crisp, the stars blazed with a white-hot light, seemingly close enough to touch. High atop Hawaii's Mauna Kea volcano, two researchers used the most powerful telescopes in the world to ...

"Carl Sagan, more than any contemporary scientist I can think of, knew what it takes to stir passion within the public when it comes to the wonder and importance of science," Bruce Alberts, president of the National Academy of Sciences, said on the d...

The National Radio Astronomy Observatory suspended its United States operations Friday after the government shutdown forced the large astronomy organization to temporarily close its doors. The NRAO has closed three telescopes: the Very Large Array, t...

A nearby alien planet six times the size of Earth is covered with a water-rich atmosphere that includes a strange "plasma form" of water, scientists say. Astronomers have determined that the atmosphere of super-Earth Gliese 1214 b is likely water-ric...

A new image from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope shows an enormous collection of galaxies and star clusters in stunning detail. Hubble spied 10,000 or so of the estimated 160,000 globular star groupings thought to reside in the huge galaxy cluster Abel...

Calling all would-be Galileos: the best time to start stargazing is the present. More than ever before, astronomers are finding populated outlets in social media to discuss and share information related to meteor showers, eclipses and other celestial...

Early-bird stargazers with clear weather on Sunday can enjoy interesting predawn spectacle involving two bright stars and Mars, the Red Planet. Mars is currently rising in the east-northeast just before 3:30 a.m. your local time. The Earth is very sl...

When the full moon rises on Tuesday night, it will technically be a Blue Moon, but not for the reason you might think. The Blue Moon on Aug. 20 is not the second full moon of August, but actually gets its name from a relatively obscure rule of astron...

When a supernova explodes and parts of the stars rush through space at 3 million miles per hour, you get an expanded nebula -- and the chance to make a fabulous video. Astrophotographer Adam Block created a video showing how much the Crab Nebula has ...

A new portrait of the Milky Way's neighbor, Andromeda, shows our twin galaxy as we've never seen it before -- thanks to a new instrument on Japan's Subaru telescope at the summit of Hawaii's Mauna Kea. The instrument, called the Hyper-Suprime Cam (HS...

Stargazing is a cheap and relaxing alternative to break-the-bank activities, but with thousands of stars up there twinkling away, it can be difficult to identify the various constellations and other features of the night sky. We've rounded up a list ...

This weekend, during the late evening hours, search for the famous "Summer Triangle" high in the eastern sky. The triangle consists of three of the brightest stars in the sky, each the brightest in its own constellation. Bluish-white star Vega in Lyr...

Astrophysicists believe our galaxy must be filled with more dark matter than ordinary matter. Now, astronomers say they can find no evidence of dark matter’s gravitational influence on the planets. What gives? Astronomers have a problem. Whenever the...

There's a giant scorpion hovering overhead, but have no fear. This creepy crawler is actually the constellation Scorpius -- all sparkle and no sting. In his book The Stars in Our Heaven -- Myths and Fables (Pantheon Books, 1948), author Peter Lum wri...

The largest full moon of 2013, a so-called "supermoon," will light up the sky this weekend. At 7 a.m. EST on June 23, the moon will arrive at perigee -- the point in its orbit closest to Earth. The distance between the moon and Earth on Sunday will b...

The International Space Station and a European cargo-carrying spacecraft are locked in a cosmic dance, and you can see it all unfold right from your own backyard. The European Space Agency's bus-size Automated Transfer Vehicle-4 (ATV-4) -- a space ca...

We might be able find aliens using the heat their civilizations give off, astronomers say, but it will take a megatelescope to do the job. The development of such a telescope is in the works. The telescope -- called Colossus -- would be a massive 250...

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has given astronomers a rare look at an enormous stellar eruption, allowing them to map out the aftermath of such blasts in unprecedented detail. Hubble photographed an April 2011 explosion in the double-star system T Py...

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